MUSIC VIDEO CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag

Music videos - codes and conventions

1. erformance - the singer / band are seen to be playing, to provide authenticity, so that followers believe in the talent and can see their star. Record labels sign stars and promote them  to ensure sales.
2. Star - use of close-ups, sometimes direct eye contact with audience, to build relationship with audience
3. The visuals (what the star and other characters are seen doing) illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics (the 'story in the words'). Illustration = the visuals play out the story more or less literally; amplify = the words in the lyrics are only the starting point and the story develops in other directions; contradiction / disjuncture = the visuals do not interpret the words of the lyrics and may even show something contradictory.
4. The narrative usually features the performer in 'real life' situations but often with experimental types of film making such as hand-held, dramatic camera angles, symbolic codes and lighting
5. The visuals are usually cut to the beat of the music; the editing is often fast-paced; there is often use of montage, ellipsis and intercutting, stylish effects
6. Refrain - repeated chorus, sometimes with variations
7. Intertextuality - references to other media, films, performances, events

in the performance Avril lavigne is playing with a band accompanying her. they illegally park in the middle of the road and start a concert, with members of the public (who are clearly fans) crowding around the car. whilst standing on top of the car she using a microphone to sing and has a guitar, bass and rums in the back. this is promoting their band as if you havent seen them before and heard them in public you might see them and like their music. they could also be in the newspaper because of the police showing up.

avril lavigne uses closeups when she is singing into the microphone, and zoom shot into her and birds eye shots from high up of the scene and how many thousands of people a crowded round the car the see the band perform. direct eye contact makes you feel as if the song connects more with you and the star is connecting with you.

in the music video many people skate and obviously the song is about a 'sk8ter boi' is portrays how the youth in those days acted. it plays a story of how a group of people who were just friends and liked to hang out and skate could create such amazing talent. the lyrics are sometimes not relevant as sometimes she sings about a story that isnt happening in the actual video.

Theres a hand held camera as if one of their friends are filming them directly, theres zooms and professional angles of a proper camera. there are shaky angle where the camera looks as if it is almost being moved by avril herself. 

there are more faster clips and action clips when the beat gets faster and when the chorus is introduced, at the start it is quiet and calm and then the music kicks in and the whole video and actions the people tarring in it are taking generally gets faster as a whole.

there are many repeated choruses towards the end where the song buids and builds towatds the end, to make it 3 minutes and to add more effect and to repeat it so people get it stuck in  their heads more and can enjoy the best part of it for longer.

this is filmed a few years ago as you can tell because of the old video production and how they are dressed as that was the fashion at that time as 'punks' and it was popular to dress this way as a teenager a good few years back.
 

mise-en-scene

In one of the first scenes we see the head constable giving a speech to the majority of the police department. mise-en-scene takes place here in the costumes. you can  see everyone wearing their uniform and white gloves all standing in a line smartly. this shows the importance of the scene and the importance and maturity the police men/women must have while listening to the speech. the lighting is darker, as it is more serious in this particular scene.

With parts of the beach scene also taking place during this although it is a significantly different scene. during the nudist and stag beach scene they all have very different props to make the scene seem more exaggerated. the people who are attending the stag have viking hats on, represents strong, independent men, acting as bravado. the nudists only have a towel to cover them-selves which symbolizes their lack of dignity at this point and why the people at the stag die are mocking them, which obviously makes them aggravated.